Computer Algorithm will determine grouping of names on 9/11 Memorial

This year marks the tenth anniversary of 9/11, and there is a memorial planned to be unveiled on September 11th of this year.

Like most memorials, such as the Vietnam War memorial, this one will be a list of names. These particular names will not be in alphabetical or chronological order, but will be grouped by affinity.

In other words, the police officers will be grouped with other police officers, the firefighters with other firefighters, the stock traders with other stock traders, and so on. It took a computer algorithm to figure out this grouping, and it was done to “reflect friends and co-workers”. In short, it is a way of remembering a loved one in the group that he or she associated with in life.

This is the work of New York media design firm Local Projects, taking over 1,800 requests from the families of the 3,500 9/11 victims. They intend to launch an application for smartphones, tablet computers, and electronic kiosks when the Memorial officially opens on the decade anniversary date.

For those that will have a hard time finding the name of a lost loved one, this Memorial Finder will find the specific panel and number where the name is located.